Hi-tech mini-submarines will be used to track the movement of fish to assess population numbers, the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said it would use Remus 100 autonomous underwater vehicles after it struck an agreement with Bermuda-based business Cerulean H20.

The agreement is part of the home affairs ministry’s Marine Spatial Plan and Blue Economy Strategy, designed to improve the management of fisheries.

The Remus 100’s first project will start this year where it will be used to map and survey blue-striped grunt spawning off St George’s.

The information collected will be compared to previous records of blue-striped grunt spawning rates and used to monitor the health of the fish species.

The North Atlantic Digital Neritic Lab, operated by Cerulean H20 and the Ocean Tech charity, will provide the Government with the AUVs.

The Remus 100 carries instruments capable of recording the behaviour and abundance of fish around the island.

It is faster and easier to deploy than similar equipment and is one of the most advanced non-military AUVs available.

The Remus 100 can also cover a larger area and collect a larger variety of oceanographic, hydrographic, environmental and ecological information.

It is also capable of mapping the seabed and estimating the number of fish in the area.